Dental appliance



Oct.

C. L- JOHNSTON DENTAL APPLIANCE Filed July 25, 1954 INVENTOR.

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United States Patent DENTAL APPLIANCE Charles L. Johnston, Canton, Ga. Application July 23, 1954, Serial No. 445,290

1 Claim. (CI. 32-34) This invention relates to a dental appliance and more particularly to a moisture absorbing device.

The primary object of the invention is to preserve in a dry condition a localized area of a mouth during the conduct of dental operations therein.

Another object is to isolate the area from the breath and tongue of the patient and to absorb any moisture tending to be conveyed to the area by the breath of the user.

The above and other objects may be attained by employing this invention which embodies among its features a roll of absorbent material adapted to be disposed along the buccal area of the mouth in which the operation is taking place, and an apron of absorbent material carried by and extending outwardly from one end of said roll and across the center of the mouth for isolating the area from the breath and tongue of the patient.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view illustrating the dental appliance in place in a mouth and showing the apron isolating the tongue and breath of the patient from the area in which the operation is taking place.

Figure 2 is a side view of one side of the dental appliance embodying the features of this invention;

Figure 3 is a side view of the opposite side of the appliance;

Figure 4 is an edge view of one edge of the appliance; and

Figure 5 is an edge view of a perpendicular edge of the appliance.

Referring to the drawings in detail, this improved dental appliance comprises a roll of absorbent material of the type commonly employed in dentistry for insertion in the mouth between the teeth and an adjacent portion of the cheek or lip. Stitched or otherwise secured as at 12 to the roll 10 and extending outwardly from one end thereof is an absorbent apron 14 which, as illustrated, extends beyond the adjacent end of the roll 10 and to one side thereof so that when the roll 10 is inserted in the month between the teeth and adjacent cheek, the apron 14 will extend outwardly from the roll 10 and lie substantially transversely of the mouth, as illustrated in Figure 1, to act as a stop for a tongue T and to absorb moisture from the breath of the patient.

In order to stitch the apron 14 to the roll 10, the roll is flattened as at 16.

In use, it will be evident that the roll 10 is placed in the channel between the teeth on one side of the mouth and the buccal area to define an absorbent pad of the type commonly employed in such service. With the roll 10 in the position illustrated, the apron 14 will extend across the mouth beyond the center thereof to define an absorbent darn which will serve not only to hold the tongue out of the way, but also will absorb any moisture entering the mouth through the throat so as to preserve dry a localized area of the mouth so that dental operations may be performed therein.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed is:

A dental appliance for keeping dry a localized area of the month during the conduct of dental operations therein, said appliance comprising a roll of absorbent material adapted to be disposed along the buccal area of the mouth in which the operation is taking place, and an apron of absorbent material carried by and extending outwardly from one end of said roll and across the center of the mouth for isolating the area from the breath and tongue of the patient.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 300,600 Halsey June 17, 1884 FOREIGN PATENTS 524,370 Germany May 6, 1931 

